Bill White to Obama: to Hell with the chief

President Barack Obama was in Texas this week, dragging the bag for the Democratic

National Committee, as R.G. Ratcliffe reported from the Hearst Austin bureau. So you would think that Bill White, the Democrats’ standard bearer in the highest profile race in the state would seek to benefit from the commander in chief’s presence, right?

But of the two candidates for Texas governor - White and Republican incumbent Rick Perry – only one even met with the president. And it wasn’t the Democratic candidate.

That tells you a lot about what Democratic candidates in Texas think about their party’s national figures. Behind closed doors, they’re happy to show their love for Obama or House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. But not one of them who’s engaged in a competitive race wants to be seen publicly with them.

The public shunning is making some African Americans – whose votes the Democratic Party takes for granted - angry. “Bill White Snubs President Obama” read the headline of an African American weekly in Austin.

Just last year, White bought a newspaper ad picturing him and Obama under the headline, “The Dream. The Hope. The Change.” This year, he’s expected to buy a newspaper ad picturing him and Ronald Reagan under the headline, “Government is not the solution to our problem. Government is the problem.” OK, fine. So White’s running in a red state where the president isn’t exactly popular. But isn’t this going just a bit too far?

If White dissed the president, the same can’t be said of Perry. Despite being a vocal critic of Obama policies and making Texas a plaintiff against the Obama administration in several cases, Perry followed protocol, met the president on the tarmac in Austin, shook hands with him … and didn’t make a scene.

Sure, there was this business about trying to hand deliver a letter about border security. But Perry’s meeting with Obama was cordial and respectful, if brief – which is more than anyone can say about Bill White’s meeting with the president.